18 September 2012
Thales signed a €40 million contract with the Slovenian Transport Ministry to provide a complete European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 1 on the Slovenian part of Corridor D. Due for completion in 2015, this project in partnership with GH Holding concerns the 350 km line stretching from the Hungarian border to Italy. The contract represents one of the most important ETCS Level 1 infrastructure projects, demonstrating Thales’ leadership in the field of European Train Control Technology. Thales is the name behind the world’s and Europe’s biggest and most complex ETCS projects, including Spain’s high-speed network, Poland and Denmark’s national rail network, Switzerland’s Lötschberg and Gotthard base tunnels, Saudi Arabia’s 2,400 km North-South Railway and now, for the first time, Slovenia.
“I am very pleased that besides existing Thales projects in the Slovenian market, we have won this major contract in transportation”, says Günther Trummer, Thales VP Central Europe & Balkans.
“Thales Austria, the competence center for ETCS Level 1, supplies this forward-looking technology worldwide. Now, we are proud of the first footstep in our neighbouring country of Slovenia”, says Alfred Veider, Thales Austria CEO.
The Corridor D project is part of the European Commission promotion plan to improve the use of rail transport and to enhance sustainable mobility by encouraging the modal shift from road to rail. The main objective is to develop technical interoperability by deploying a common European signaling system all along the corridor's route and removing operational and operating barriers on the 3000 km line, going from Valencia, in Spain, to Budapest, in Hungary, via France, Italy and Slovenia.
This project will play a pivotal role in the trans-European network, enabling the rail sector to compete more successfully in a number of growing market segments.
About ETCS (European Train Control System)
Train control systems ensure the safe transportation of passengers and goods by train. There are currently more than 14 different train control systems in use throughout Europe that are not compatible with each other. Thanks to the ETCS technology, trains can cross borders without changing systems or drivers.